BY PETE GOLDIN


ment and business sectors in discord on the issue of parking. But that is exactly what happened in January, when theMontreal municipal gov- ernment announced a new parking tax to be imple- mented retroactive to January 1.


Montreal’s new tax on indoor and outdoor parking lots


applies only to two specific sectors of the downtown area – Sec- tor A covers the business district and Sector B the downtown area.The tax is charged per squaremeter of the parking lot’s sur- face area. The full tax applies to parking lots on serviced vacant lots or on propertywhere a parking business is located. For park- ing lots that are not outdoor lots used for commercial purposes, the first 390 square meters of surface area are exempt from the tax, and the tax applies to the remaining surface area. In SectorA, the tax for indoor lots is CA$9.90 per square


meter and for outdoor lots the tax is CA$19.80 per squaremeter. In Sector B, the tax is CA$4.95 per square meter for indoor lots and for CA$14.85 per squaremeter outdoor lots. The tax is added to the lot owner’s property tax bill, butAlan


Desousa, Vice Chair of the Executive Committee for Ville de Montreal, says the intention is for the increased costs to be passed on to the parking patrons, although the city leaves that decision up to the lot owners. According to Gerry Girard, President of theMontreal Park-


ingAssociation, the parking tax will impact around 200 parking facilities in downtownMontreal, increasing property tax bills as much as 280%.


Funding Public Transit with Parking Tax The primary purpose of the tax is to generate additional


funding forMontreal’s public transit initiatives, and it is expect- ed to bring in CA$20million in revenue. “As part of our 2010 budget, we decided to be a partner in


the effort made by our province to reduce greenhouse gases and promote public transit,” DeSousa explains. “But we realized not all the funding could come through the municipal tax base, and it was appropriate to consider a small amount, in this case about CA$20 million, coming from people who actually bring their cars into town.” Asecondary and less publicized purpose of the tax is to dis- courage surface parking in downtownMontreal.


Business Backlash On February 4, the Coalition pour uneVéritableMétropole,


comprised of six associations with a stake in Montreal’s eco- 12 JUNE 2010 • PARKING WORLD • www.parkingworld.com


I Montreal Implements


NMONTREAL,A CITY whose spectacular jazz festival is all about harmo- ny, it seems almost out of place to see the govern-


ControversialNewParking Tax


nomic development, announced that they oppose the parking tax in favor of alterna- tives such as a gasoline tax. “We are concerned about the effect of


the new tax imposed on downtown park- ing,” says Jean Laramée, Board chairman of the Institut deDéveloppementUrbain du Québec (IDU). “By sharply increasing the tax burden of businesses and residents, this budget is hobbling a still fragile economy.” Opponents also say that the tax will


discourage consumers and businesses from using commercial and cultural offerings in the downtown area. “The parking tax is totally going to kill downtownMontre-


al,” says Girard, “because there is competition in the suburbs which is very close to downtown – a brand new shopping mall that has all the stores you can find downtown, and the parking is free.” Girard says Montreal is already seeing a migration to the


suburbs, stating that downtown parking occupancy is 25% less compared to a year ago. He contends that the increase in parking costs triggered by the tax will onlymake the situation worse. In addition, Girard asserts that the tax will increase monthly


parking rates by $20 to $40 permonth, and this could force small businesses to relocate to suburban office buildings where park- ing is free. “In general terms, if all of these costswere transferred down


to the end user it would amount to between CA$1 to CA$2 per day, and in our view that is a reasonable amount,” DeSousa responds. “We were careful to evaluate the impact on our com- mercial, cultural and institutional sectors, and we came to the conclusion that the additional amount was miniscule and would not act as a deterrent.” “That’s whatAlan DeSousa thinks,” Girard counters, “but


Montreal is notNewYorkCity. First of all, the rate of pay for peo- ple working in Montreal is less than NewYork City and even Toronto.A dollar a day increase might be OK for a businessman because he writes it off. But if you take a secretary working downtown at CA$50,000 per year, and paying up to CA$400 for parking, that is a lot ofmoney.” Despite these claims, however, DeSousa believesMontreal


has one of the most dynamic ad vibrant downtown areas in the world, and will not experience a negative impact from the park- ing tax.


Long-TermBenefits to Downtown “If this allows us to secure provincial funding on a much


larger scale for public transit, then I think everyone would recog- nize this is a triple win – a win for the city, the province, and the business community,” DeSousa says.


Pete Goldin is PW’s Technology Editor – he can be reached at pete@parkingworld.com


PW


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